When the Blue Jays’ season ended in heartbreak on Saturday, Khela Maquiling was surprised to find herself sobbing outside a Toronto bar.

The 30-year-old web designer had only started watching the playoffs to bond with her baseball-loving partner, but somewhere along the way she fell for the game — and for the nightly ritual that brought them closer.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 5-4 win in 11 innings to capture Game 7 of the World Series against the Jays, Maquiling watched from the Drake Hotel with her boyfriend, caught up in the anguish that rippled across the city. The game drew an average audience of 10.9 million viewers on Sportsnet.

“I just started crying and I shocked myself because I didn’t think I was a sports person until that moment,” the Toronto resident recalls.

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